THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. One of the poems I love to read and reread is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. It tells us that choosing between two equally attractive options is difficult. It is like standing at a crossroads, and you cannot decide which path to follow. But once a decision is made, it generates consequences that are beyond our control. Our choices can either make or break us. Sadly, we realize this only through hindsight. As the oft-quoted part of the poem says:

"I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

Frost does not elaborate on what that "difference" was. But his message is clear —we should not postpone making crucial decisions just because we are afraid of making a mistake. When we do not decide for ourselves, we allow others to decide for us. This voluntary surrender of autonomy can backfire. So, Frost advises us to take the "road not taken," as the title of his poem suggests. Many, indeed, choose the "road taken," the popular and conventional path that requires very little effort to traverse because we are simply following the footsteps of others. This wide road leads to a wide gate that opens up to a place where everyone is just like everyone else. In today's gospel reading, Jesus addresses the many Christians who choose the wide road that leads to the wide gate of conformity. "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough to do so" (Luke 13:24). What saps their strength is their desire to fit in whatever environment they find themselves, even if that environment directly contradicts their principles and value system. Their constant striving for what is convenient and easy leaves them weak, unable to stand up for what is right and good. The word "sacrifice" is alien to them. They believe everyone shall go to heaven because Jesus has already died for us. This kind of thinking is reflected in our current public pre-college educational system. In the name of equity and accessibility, educators unwittingly make students think that society doesn’t care if they don't aspire to be the best, as long as they play their part as cogs in the big wheel of politics, business, industry, and government. Paying lip service to excellence, students are promoted to the next academic level regardless of their performance. Jesus warns us against choosing the beaten path forged by our culture, which extols conformity, compromise, and mediocrity. We should rather walk on the narrow road of freedom and excellence that results from our obedience to God's will. When we go against the current, we actually blaze a new trail. As the poem of Antonio Machado puts it:

Traveler, the road that you tread is nothing else but your footprints. Traveler, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk.

In a very real sense, our life's journey is unique to us. The path to the narrow gate is ours to create with every decision that we make. We may take the wide road where people cheer us on, calling us "the best," and "the first," because we are like them. But if we come to think of it, only the mediocre are always at their best. When the bar is set low enough, everyone becomes exceptional.